There are a number of useful sites I can recommend, but I don't touch PHP often. The reason I ask though is that having knowledge of programming will help a lot. PHP is an almost fully featured programming language, so understanding standard programming concepts like basic design patterns and coding standards will be a big boon.

If you're a programmer - it reads and writes a lot like Java, just read over the APIhttp://php.net

Why does my life have to be so smallAnd death is foreverAnd does forever have a life to call its own?Don't give me an answer cause you only knowAs much as I knowUnless you've been there onceAnd I hardly think soGreen Day - One of My Lies

I have a little knowledge of php. This site I'm trying to build has a little php code already in it. I have my html headers and footers separated from the body and use the include function to attach it to the body. Other than that I'm a complete n00b.

DepricatedZero wrote:There are a number of useful sites I can recommend, but I don't touch PHP often. The reason I ask though is that having knowledge of programming will help a lot. PHP is an almost fully featured programming language, so understanding standard programming concepts like basic design patterns and coding standards will be a big boon.

Thank you so much for the links. I will start with the basics and go from there.

Right on! Not judging, it's just important to know your audience. I don't want to talk over your head, you know? Or toss out suggestions for methods you might not be familiar with.

I don't know what you use to write in, but if you grab a copy of Notepad++ you can get a PHP addon that will add autocomplete features to it for PHP.

Why does my life have to be so smallAnd death is foreverAnd does forever have a life to call its own?Don't give me an answer cause you only knowAs much as I knowUnless you've been there onceAnd I hardly think soGreen Day - One of My Lies

DepricatedZero wrote:Right on! Not judging, it's just important to know your audience. I don't want to talk over your head, you know? Or toss out suggestions for methods you might not be familiar with.

I don't know what you use to write in, but if you grab a copy of Notepad++ you can get a PHP addon that will add autocomplete features to it for PHP.

tuxbox wrote:I have a little knowledge of php. This site I'm trying to build has a little php code already in it. I have my html headers and footers separated from the body and use the include function to attach it to the body. Other than that I'm a complete n00b.

This looks like the beginning of Spaghetti code. Maybe it'd be worth trying to learn an MVC framework or at least use a template engine like Twig

Frameworks are nice, they provide you with loads of components but this results in a bigger overhead in learning. It'd definitely be a good idea to familiarise yourself with the MVC design pattern, which is implemented by most of the web frameworks.

On the other hand, if you want to write plugins for a CMS, like Joomla, you'll have to learn the specifics of that give CMS. How to access database or how to render content using components provided by the CMS. (a CMS will still follow MVC pattern)

tuxbox wrote:I have a little knowledge of php. This site I'm trying to build has a little php code already in it. I have my html headers and footers separated from the body and use the include function to attach it to the body. Other than that I'm a complete n00b.

This looks like the beginning of Spaghetti code. Maybe it'd be worth trying to learn an MVC framework or at least use a template engine like Twig

Frameworks are nice, they provide you with loads of components but this results in a bigger overhead in learning. It'd definitely be a good idea to familiarise yourself with the MVC design pattern, which is implemented by most of the web frameworks.

On the other hand, if you want to write plugins for a CMS, like Joomla, you'll have to learn the specifics of that give CMS. How to access database or how to render content using components provided by the CMS. (a CMS will still follow MVC pattern)

Thanks WarK, I will check these links out. I really appeciate the help.